According to the local media Air-Info, which alerted Saturday evening about this kidnapping, “armed men” kidnapped Eva Gretzmacher, 73, from her home, living in Agadez for 28 years where she led projects in the fields of education, health, women’s autonomy, ecology, culture and the arts.
No Nigerien authority has communicated about the kidnapping so far and the Agadez town hall, when contacted, did not wish to comment.
The Austrian embassy in Algiers – which is responsible for Niger – is “in direct contact with the governor of Agadez”, indicated the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which also announced having sent “a request for support” to his Nigerian counterpart.
According to information from Air-Info, the kidnappers showed up at his home on Saturday evening and forced his guard to open the door. They then entered the house and forced Ms. Gretzmacher into a “V6” vehicle.
No personal item was stolen during the kidnapping, reports the local media which also indicates that in 2021, she had already been the subject of kidnapping threats.
This poor country in the Sahelo-Saharan strip, led by a military junta since the July 2023 coup which overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, is prey to insecurity and recurring attacks by armed groups, some of which are affiliated with Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State organization.
The last kidnapping of Westerners in the Agadez region dates back to 2010 and was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Five French people, a Togolese and a Malagasy, employees of the French nuclear group Areva (now Orano) and its subcontractor Satom were kidnapped in Arlit, also in the north of the country.
-Released in several waves, their captivity lasted between five months and a little over three years, for the last ones released.
Since June, a prefect and four soldiers from his delegation have been held hostage in the north of the country by the Patriotic Front for Justice (FPJ), a rebel group hostile to the military regime in power.
They were kidnapped during an ambush against their convoy in the Agadez region, a vast expanse of desert bordering Libya and Algeria.
Alongside rebel groups and armed jihadist movements, northern Niger has experienced a rise in insecurity in recent years thanks to a rush towards artisanal gold mines which abound in the region and which attract thousands of young Nigeriens. , Malians, Chadians, Libyans or Sudanese.
The Nigerien army recently launched the anti-terrorist operation “Garkoi” (shield, in Hausa language) to monitor the borders with Libya, Algeria and Mali.
It regularly reports seizures of drugs, explosives, weapons and arrests of suspected traffickers.
